Page 8 - Southwell_The Chronicle_December2020

WARD FAMILY
ust a short 3.5 hour drive from Hamilton, over winding recently departed boarders Kate and Harrison and current coastal and single lane unsealed roads you’ll find Year 8, Cameron.
JPORT JACKSON FAMILY HAVEN
Southwell’s Ward family literally unwinding in their
own slice of Godzone in Port Jackson, at the very top
of the Coromandel Peninsula. Five generations of Ward families have farmed the current family land in Port Jackson, since arriving in the 1800’s from England, gradually adding multiple neighbouring farms to the portfolio for a total current land area of 2300ha in beef and sheep.
Since 1950, three generations of Ward family children have travelled this winding picturesque route to and from Southwell as boarders. Beginning with brothers Marcus, father of two former Southwell boarders and his younger brother Phillip, father of old boy Zander and grandfather of
Phillip and Marcus’ English mother preferred a private school education and both boys were sent to Southwell at age seven. The old school calendar compromised three longer terms, so the boys would return home to the farm only a handful of times over the year.
Seventy years later, the road may not have vastly improved but life at Southwell as a boarder has.
Zander and wife Cath started their children at the local school in Colville, a 45 minute drive on those unsealed narrow roads. Over time, the children learned via
Back: P. Whyman, R. Mason, P. Ward, R. Chitty, M. Fish, M. Travers, J. Strode-Penny
Front: C. Bayley, I Tagipo, D. James, R. Green
Back: S. Edwards, C. Angell, S. Blackett, M Calver, S. Purdie. K. Field, C. Payne Middle: A. Ward, A. Scobie, C. Wilson, M. Atiken, E. Wardale, R. Daysh, M. Pavlovich, G. Bayley, A. Stockwell, S. Shrimpton, G. Thomas, Mr J. Otley
Front: S. Bryant, S. Winter, M. Moore, N. Styles, K. Groom, J. Frost, P. Johnston,
P. Woolerton, D. Wallace